The Islamabad High Court ordered on Wednesday that advertisement be issued in newspapers to summon former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield flats references.

The court was hearing appeals in the two cases. Nawaz had been sentenced to seven and ten years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield Flats References, respectively.

The former premier’s sentence in the Al-Azizia reference was suspended. He has filed an appeal seeking its annulment.

The National Accountability Bureau has filed appeals to increase his sentence to 14 years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case. It seeks an end to the suspension of Nawaz’s sentence in the Avenfield case too.

In October 2019, the IHC had granted bail to Nawaz on humanitarian grounds. The government allowed him in November 2019 to leave the country to get medical treatment in London after his health deteriorated. He hasn’t returned since.

His bail expired in February 2020. Last month, the IHC issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Nawaz. But the warrants were not received by the ex-premier.

During the hearing on Wednesday, a NAB prosecutor told the court that there was enough evidence against the former premier. It was evident that he didn’t receive the warrants deliberately, he said.

The prosecutor said if the court was satisfied then adverts could be issued to summon the former premier.

The court inquired how much time should Nawaz be given to appear before it after the issuance of adverts. The NAB prosecutor proposed 30 days’ time.

The IHC ordered issuance of advertisements to summon the ex-premier. It asked the attorney general to deposit the cost of advertisement in the IHC registrar’s office in two days.